Vail-based investment firm doubles in size

Manna Tree, a Vail-based investment firm committed to improving human health, recently announced it has doubled in size, announcing several additions to its management, investor relations and operations teams.

Sylvio Petto Neto will join as director, and Shannon Flahive and Ben Tabah have joined the firm as vice presidents.

“Manna Tree is experiencing meaningful deal flow and overall firm growth. To continue making high-quality, impactful investments in human health, we need to further build on the strong foundation our existing team has created. We believe we have the right people in the right places supporting our portfolio companies and overall operations in every corner of the organization,“ said Brent Drever, president and co-founder of Manna Tree Partners. “The new team additions will help fuel us as we source new deals and also build off of the momentum we have observed, in particular, in the functional beverage and nutrient-dense foods spaces.”

Neto brings over 25 years of international experience in the food and agriculture sectors. His career experience includes operational and business development roles with Cargill, Syngenta, portfolio management with the Wheatsheaf Group and his own consulting company, Green Prairie Consulting.

Flahive has more than a decade of strategy consulting and investing experience. Her career includes time as a consultant with firms including Cambridge Associates, Boston Consulting Group, Treacy & Company and Egg Strategy. Most recently, she was with Blackhorn Ventures where she supported impact investment deal flow with financial modeling and business model and market analysis.

Tabah joins Manna Tree’s investment team to lead deal due diligence, supporting the investment process from initial conversations to close. He began his career doing sell-side mergers and acquisitions advisory with Macquarie Capital in New York City. He then joined Wellspring Capital where he was a member of the investment team and engaged in the evaluation, execution and oversight of leveraged buyout transactions totaling over $1 billion in enterprise value.

Manna Tree has also made a number of internal promotions and further additions to its operations and investor relations teams.

Allyson Patterson has been promoted to managing director. Patterson heads the firm’s legal and compliance, manages fund operations and communications and oversees the management company’s operations.

Charlotte Forfang has joined the investor relations team as an analyst to support fundraising and investor relationships.

Associate Lindsay Nistler has joined to lead investor services, including management of new partner onboarding, drawdowns and distributions, and investor reporting.

Makayla Brown has joined as executive assistant supporting co-founders Brent Drever and Ross Iverson, as well as overseeing office administration.

For more information, go to MannaTreePartners.com.